Just a few miles from the demilitarized zone in South Korea a new city has arisen – a city dedicated to books. Paju Bookcity attempts to write a new chapter for Korean history that weaves together publishing, architecture, and urban planning – all fields which have faced dramatic changes in the nation’s tumultuous 20th century, and particularly in the last two-and-a-half decades.

Why build a new “city of print” in the land of Samsung, in a nation aiming for the complete digitization of its public school textbooks by 2015? How does this new ex-urban development – one ostensibly committed to a return to traditional values and “slow” culture – compare to all the other “new towns” popping up around it?

In this talk Shannon Mattern, associate professor of Media Studies, The New School for Public Engagement, will explore the place of Paju Bookcity - which continues to grow and add new media companies – within South Korea’s “digital dynasty”.

Faculty Research Brownbag Series is a series of faculty research presentations hosted by the Office of the Provost. A representative will be on hand to discuss the Faculty Research Fund and answer questions.